Conquest of Fear
Conquest of Fear is a story by thechapmaniac1 following the story of Sewall, a former Dark Hunter in the ruins of Metru Nui after Journey's End. Story Chapter 1 8 months after Makuta Teridax's death. The last of the matoran have left Metru Nui. However, Metru Nui was not empty. Although the evenings tended to be dim and the artificial moon and sun took slower to rise and set, Metru Nui, and the rest of the Matoran Universe, remained habitable. Those who did survive Makuta Teridax's dark reign saw this now empty body as a safe haven from the Toa and Glatorian outside, who have all but neglected their former home. For Sewall, this came as a new opportunity to conquer the world. Being one of The Shadowed One's top Assassins, Sewall managed to escape with his life where his master hadn't. Aided by a loose team of nine dark hunters, Sewall managed to round up a lost force of around forty skadki. It wasn't hard, really. Skadki where intelligent, nut they love life. Sewall is an expert at taking it away. They soon figured out it was wise to have Sewall on their side. The blue clad Sewall calmly walked out of the Coliseum, which now showed signs of weathering due to poor maintenance, to greet his forces. All skadki and Dark Hunters immediately stood unnaturally still as Sewall inspected each and everyone of them. "Attention," Sewall shouted after clearing his throat. "You may think because the Toa are gone, it's going to be easy to take this world. It's not. I have heard countless stories of matoran mysteriously disappearing in my time spying on them. Some of this is to be expected, as the archives have broken down again. But this city of legends harbors another threat. "The Vahki have returned," Sewall said, letting it sink in. "They have been seen lurking around the city with machines we think are the Krahli. There is a small number of them, but they are far deadlier than the Vahki that patrolled these streets over a thousand years ago. These one can kill. But they cannot be killed." The crowd of Skadki and Dark Hunters erupted in a series of nervous whispers. Sewall expected this. In total, including himself, Sewall's force composed of fifty beings. It was barely enough to hold and Mann the city's defenses, nevertheless defend it against an internal threat. "Many of you may perish in the coming weeks," Sewall resumed his speech. "However, we need to prove to the world of our might. And Metru Nui is the first step. We must rid our city of this threat before we can recruit more soldiers and move onto the next island. We can, and will find a way to destroy this threat." With that, Sewall turned around, heading back into the Coliseum, with his second-in-command, Blood, trailing close behind him. "Wait!" Blood said, hurrying after Sewall. "Sewall! Sewall! I found something that may be of use!" "What is it," Sewall said, looking into Blood's eyes. Since Makuta Teridax died, Blood had never let him down. Calmly, Blood placed a tablet with Matoran runes scribbled in it accompanied by pictures. "It's the Vahki designs," Blood said. "Made by Nuparu himself. It tells how to wire the Vahki and how to program them. And if we know this then---" "We can wire these new Vahki into doing what we want." Chapter 2 Trezak and Plague laid out the rest of their copper net on the ground. The Skadki and Dark Hunter where near Metru Nui's shore, in what used to be Ta-Metru, which ironically was a hot spot for Vahki and Krahli activity. Trezak clutched a tridont, lying in wait with Plague, who clutched his poison daggers. Trezak had wondered why they called him Plague. Like Lariska, he was found of poison daggers. However, Plague's daggers held poison that wouldn't kill you immediately. Instead, it would introduce a new disease into one's body that would cause as much pain as possible without making one feint or damaging one's nerves. Eventually, either the victim would commit suicide or the disease would stop their heart. Either way was entertaining to Plague. However, as the Vahki where completely mechanical, they where not subject to organic diseases. Plague planned for this, using his natural power over electricity he charged each knife, which he custom made out of Lithium and Copper, almost to their bursting point with electricity, so any rough contact would result in their explosions. Plague smiled as he patted his knives--- carefully---as he grabbed an end of the copper wire trap they laid out for any passing Vahki. Trezak and Plague stood there nearly all day, getting stiff, when finally a red tinted Vahki, Kanoka disk in mouth, trotted on top of their trap. Plague instinctively sent hundreds of volts of electricity though the former peacekeeper's body, knocking it unconscious. Neither Plague nor Trezak knew or cared how electrical attacks could take out these mutated Vahki who needed no power source, but i's the only thing that seems to work on them. Physical attacks seem to do nothing but waste time, as they can rebuild themselves. Physic attacks do nothing as these Vahki still have something like a hive mind. The only way to get to them is to mess with their power source. "Trezak, hand me the instructions," Plague said, opening up his hand, which had a copy of Blood's instructions a second later. Unceremoniously, Plague dug a copper knife into the Vahki's skull and wedged open its plating, revealing several different wires. Wuth the trained hands of a being all too familiar with bombs, Plague rewired the Vahki in record time. When all was said and done, Plague merely put the shell back into place and gave the Vahki a quick zap of elecricity. Immediately, the Vahki's eyes hummed to life, looking instinctively at Plague, looking for orders. "Head to the Coliseum," Plague said. "Their is a dark blue being their. His name is Sewall. He is your new master now." The Vahki got up and left, with little sign of recognition that he actually heard what Plague had said. "What's that?" Trezak said, pointing at a hulking figure forty feet away. "I don't like the look in his eyes." "Krahli," Plague said, satisfied. "Finally, I'll get to use my exploding knives." "But don't we have to rewire him?" Trezak said. "No," Plague said, aiming a knife carefully at the Krahli's battered brown head. "Those where designs for Vahki. Krahli are a bit different. A bit more... complicated. And it's not like we can just go ask Mavrah how to wire him, can we?" Noticing the two, the Krahli charged. Plague threw a dagger at the Krahli, who ducked. The dagger anhilated the cracked protodermis steet behind the Krahli, as Plague grasped am-nother knife. It had reached Trezak, who was batting it back with his trident. "Out of the way, you fool!" Plague said. "This'll blow you both to bits if you don't get out of the way!" "Easier said than done," Trezak said, blocking another blow from the Krahli with his trident. "If I run now, he'll just stab me in the back. Sorry, but it seems you can either join me, or kill me." "That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make," Plague half-said to himself, drawing back his dagger. Releasing it, it hit its mark, right in the Krahli's forehead, causing it to explode. Trezak shielded his face with his hands, dropping his trident, which lay ruined on the ground. "Hey! You destroyed my trident!" "Would you rather be dead?" "Yeah but--" "Here," Plague said, prying the somewhat hot blades frim the Krahli. Plague then put Trezak's ruined trident, now just an ugly misshapen staff, in the middle of his two blades. Sending thousands of volts of electricity through the three pieces of metal, Plague waited until they where white-hot to splash some liquid protodermis from the coast on it. Proud of his handiwork, Plague handed the newly-crafted staff to Trezak. "See?" Plague said. "Good as new. Even better. Let's get back to Sewall. We'll need more copper wire. And perhaps we can meet up with our Vahki friend." Chapter 3 Sewall stood over a mighty new empire. The combined Vahki and Krahli, who now did whatever their captured Vahki did, made quite an army. Sure, his skadki could improvise at any given situation and did go to extremes to preserve their lives, not to mention the fact they saw violence as an art form, but the Vahki where obediant, powerful, and deadly. Perhaps those should be his Empire's new virtues. "You wanted to see my master?" Plague said, trailing behing Sewall, who was gazing over all of Metru Nui from a great balcony on the Coliseum. "Yes," Sewall responded. "You're a smart Hunter. And people follow you. Blood is a good second in command, but for this new mission, I'm going to need him with me." "So... you and Blood are going exploring? Who's going to guard Metru Nui?" "You, and several Skadki." "You really think I'm up to it?" Plague asked, still flabbergasted. "I mean the only person I really lead was Trezak. And we almost got killed." "Believe me," Sewall responed, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Whatever danger now lies beyound the Great Barrier is definately way more dangerous than whats happening here." * * * At dawn, Blood had the Vahki and Krahli start to contruct war boats to bring Sewall's army to the surface. Using the Great Furnace to forge out basic rafts, the Vahki began to mount each vessel with all types of sakvaged machinery. Some boats had motors. Some had rows. Some had mounted disk launchers. Some had Zamor sphere launchers. Not two boats where the same. When they where finished, Blood had them moor the fleet in newly contructed docks made of flat slabs of metal. They wheren't perfect, but for a fleet of boat contructed in a day, they where the best they could've been. At the end of the day, Sewall aporoached Blood. "Tommorow we sail," Sewall whispered to Blood. "Make sure all the preparations are in order. I want to quicken this expansion thing before Plague gets any ideas." "But Trezak has orders to kill him if he does," Blood said. "All our skadki know that. He was your second choice, after all." "No," Sewall said. "Trezak would suite this role, but he's not the makings of a leader, just an easily msnipulated pawn. I want to mold fitting sucessors. I do want my empire to last, you know." Blood stared at the crack in the Great Barrier. It looked dark and hostile, with bits of twisted metal sticking out of the roof. It was very intimidating. "Ah, don't worry," Sewall said, following Blood's expression. "We'll be fine. Nobody can defeat these Vahki. Well, except us." "I don't know," Blood said while sighing. "This just feels wrong." "I know," Sewall said. "Us actually on top for a change. Isn't it strange?" "It's not that," Blood retorted. "It's just I have a feeling... we really don't want to find out what's at the end of that crack." Chapter 4 Sewall was not expecting this. Halfway through his journey through the dark labyrinth of tunnels that once connected Mata Nui to Metru Nui, slabs of smooth metal blocked their way. Nearly unbreakable, the only way to get through was to go around. "This is absurd," Sewall complained to Blood. "What is the meaning of this? Did tge matoran do this? Oh wait until I get my hands on them--" "Master," Blood said. "We have Vahki. They can merely make a tunnel around this by erasing sections of stone." "Well--" Sewall replied uncertaintly, forgetting these Vahki had the ability to do so. As a result of the Great Cataclycism, all Vahki who had survived who used to possess the power to erase matoran thoughts where transformed into beings of disuntegration. "Yes, good. There," Sewall ordered while pounting to a wall. "Tunnel through there, but be sure to loop around this slab of metal so we can get back on course." The Vahki instinctively did so without question. In a mere thirty minutes, Sewall and his fleet of dark ships where sailing along the other end of the tunnel. All was still. Deathly still, and that unnerved Sewall. At several points, cracks in the ceiling let streams of light flutter down to touch Sewall's armor. "Something is not right," Sewall thought to himself. Finally, the end of the tunnel appeared. Sewall signalled his fleet to stop, as his personel boat scouted ahead, Blood in towe, to investigate the opening. Slowly, the light began to fade. What Sewall witnessed nearly caused him to collapse. Broken machinery lay everwhere. Jagged pieces of metal made the terrain unmaneuverable. Light flooded in from a sun above, a real sun, painting the shiny landscape in blinding glares. Sewall noticed the whole place was one gigantic messy cavern. "I don't think this is Mata Nui," Sewall exclaimed, over the roaring of a waterfall. A waterfall he realuzed was inches away from his boat, and poared directly into jagged pieces of machinery, into a lake littered with more of the stuff. Sewall curiously noted one eye hole, miles off. Next to it was a mountain of razor sharp metal, and off in the distance, Sewall believed he could spot.... greenery. "God, I didn't want to believe the rumors where true," Blood said. "But I believe they where. Mata Nui and Makuta Teridax must have fought... and Makuta must've lost." Sewall laughed, staring at the reckage of the Mata Nui robot, or at least the wreckage of the head. Nobody could get in, nobody could get out. It was the perfect defense. He might have to give up expansion, at least in the traditionel way, but his empire was the safest it could ever be. "Yes," Sewall yelled at Blood. "Isn't it glorious? Our empire is protected by barriers no being could possibly navigate. Andnwe can still expand. We can build down, or move up. Yes, we shall move up, build an empire that will touch the sky! We may have conquered Metru Nui, but it shall be so much more! Yes, with the Vahki, we can build more soldiers, and greater buildungs! We have the resorces! All the metal we need is out here!" So began Sewall's mechanical Serge Empire, on the ashes of the Makuta of Metru Nui. An empire that would touch the sky. Characters *Sewall *Blood *Plague *Trezak Category:Stories Category:User:Thechapmaniac1